Your small business HR resources—whether they’re in-house or outsourced—likely handle everything from recruitment and hiring to payroll and benefits. And the process of reviewing and hiring new employees can be especially nerve-wracking, just as much so for you as it is for the candidates themselves: How can you be as certain as possible that these potential new hires are reputable, trustworthy, and, at the very least, are who they say they are? Easing those concerns is exactly what background check services and software, like GoodHire, are designed to do.

What is GoodHire exactly? GoodHire Background Check is an employee screening software built for the 21st century: Leveraging cutting-edge tech, GoodHire offers a user-friendly interface, speedy results, ATS integrations, and other tools intended to streamline and automate both pre-employment and ongoing employee screening processes.

Perhaps most importantly, GoodHire is among the most trustworthy and dependable screening services out there: Among holding other certifications, accreditations, and awards, GoodHire is accredited by NAPBS (the National Association of Professional Background Screeners), recognized by the ASA (American Staffing Association), and receives an A+ rating and accreditation by the Better Business Bureau. It’s also worth mentioning that GoodHire’s small business clients pretty much rave about the service across all major review platforms.

In this GoodHire review, we’ll explain more precisely which services GoodHire can offer employers and how much their services cost, and we’ll dig a little deeper into user reviews. We’ll also recommend a few alternatives to GoodHire so you can compare and evaluate which background screening services would work best for your hiring needs.

GoodHire Background Check: Overview and Features

First and foremost, GoodHire provides small business owners and HR managers with fast, tech-forward, legally compliant, and comprehensive background checks for both prospective and current employees—which GoodHire makes as easy as possible for you. When you order a GoodHire service package, you’ll enter your employee’s name and email and GoodHire will do all the heavy lifting for you, providing both you and your candidate with a transparent background check process that remains compliant with FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act), EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), and other legal requirements. You’ll also receive a mobile-optimized employer dashboard on which you can track and manage the results of your background checks and any other services you’ve ordered from GoodHire, plus order new checks whenever you need them.

Then, GoodHire shares the results of your employees’ background checks on an easily navigable interface that clearly breaks down all relevant information (they’ll also provide employees with copies of their test results, in accordance with FCRA). GoodHire is equipped with some unique tools designed to automate, streamline, and optimize the process for both HR managers and candidates, too—for example, candidates have the option to comment on the results of their background checks to provide context if need be. GoodHire integrates with major HR software and platforms, too, like Lever, TriNet, and Jobvite.

As an employer, you’ll also have the option of running a background check on yourself so you understand how the process will work for your employees. GoodHire is capable of running background checks on U.S. hires who have lived, worked, or studied internationally, too.

In addition to background checks, GoodHire can provide employers with employment credit checks and reports, pre-employment five- and 10-panel drug testing, health care sanctions searches and license verifications for health care professionals, and identity verification checks to ensure that prospective employees aren’t using stolen identities. You can also opt to receive alerts about changes in your employees’ background check information and ongoing reviews after you’ve hired them (don’t worry—this ongoing alerts option is compliant with consent laws). And if you run into any questions or concerns, you can contact GoodHire’s Omaha, Nebraska-based customer support team via chat, email, or phone.

GoodHire Pricing

GoodHire segments their pricing into two categories: lower volume, for businesses that require up to 50 background checks per year; and higher volume, for businesses that need more than 50 checks annually. Higher volume businesses can receive a custom quote by providing GoodHire with some basic information about their business, plus their expected number of background checks per year.

Lower volume businesses can choose among three GoodHire service plans. Here’s what each plan costs, plus their available features:

Basic: $29.99 per background check, plus a one-time setup fee. You’ll receive a social security number trace, an associated counties search, a national criminal databases search, and a sex offender list search. These background checks will take one business day to complete.

Standard: $59.99 per background check, plus a one-time setup fee and potential third-party fees for a county court search. This plan comes with everything included in the Basic plan, plus a domestic watch lList search and a seven-year county criminal court search. Standard background checks are processed in one to three business days.

Premium: $79.99 per background check, plus a setup fee and possible county court, employer verification, and education verification fees. This plan offers education verification and employer verification checks, in addition to all the services offered on the Standard plan. Premium background checks are processed in two to four business days.

Also note that you can select add-on services within any of the GoodHire background check categories mentioned above. For example, you can choose to add on an alias names search, a global watch list search, a federal criminal database search, and/or a statewide criminal records search as a part of your national criminal databases search service. Some of those add-on services require an extra fee, so take a look at GoodHire’s pricing page for a complete list of costs.

GoodHire Review: Users Weigh In

GoodHire receives largely positive reviews across major review platforms—the software receives 4.5 out of 5 stars on Capterra, 4.5 out of 5 stars on G2 Crowd, 4.6 out of 5 stars on Consumer Affairs, and an A+ Better Business Bureau rating (it’s accredited by BBB, too).

Among other accolades, positive reviews cite GoodHire’s speedy results, user-friendly interface and easily navigable tools, thorough tests, and that the software can be integrated with third-party applicant tracking systems and other HR software. Most users also appreciate GoodHire’s excellent customer service team and claim that their accounts’ dedicated representatives respond to questions and concerns quickly and courteously.

Negative reviews of GoodHire are rare, but we have seen a handful of complaints. One reviewer found the service too expensive, another found it difficult to access archived background check results, another claimed that the software’s estimated turnaround time is often inaccurate, and others wanted the option to expedite background check results. However, many of these reviewers note that their complaints are minor, and most would still recommend this software to other small business owners.

GoodHire Background Check Alternatives

Although GoodHire comes highly recommended by other small business owners, it’s always a good idea to compare your options. Here are just three more background check services we’d recommend looking into:

Checkr

Checkr is the background check service of choice for some of the world’s biggest companies, including Uber, Lyft, Grubhub, and Zillow. Like GoodHire, Checkr leverages technology to deliver quick, accurate, and comprehensive background checks on a user-friendly, mobile-optimized interface. Checkr’s background screenings cover similar ground to GoodHire’s, including a social security number trace; a thorough criminal records check; a driving records check; employment, education, and personal and professional reference checks; a credit check; and several drug screening options. Plus, Checkr offers all of these screening services a la carte, so you’ll only pay for what you truly need.

Checkr is NAPBS accredited, FCRA- and EEOC-compliant, and they have an in-house compliance and legal team; and as a tech-forward company, Checkr offers full API integration. Checkr’s pricing is quote-based, so you’ll need to contact Checkr’s sales team through their online form to request your pricing information.

Justifacts

Since 1982, Justifacts has provided both small businesses and enterprises with thorough, legally compliant pre-employment background checks for candidates, as well as post-hire and ongoing screening services for current employees. Along with a dedicated account manager, Justifacts clients receive access to Justiweb, the company’s proprietary background screening software on which you can track and manage your reports in real time. Typically, reports are delivered within 48 to 72 hours after ordering.

Among other certifications and accreditations, Justifacts is NAPBS accredited and completed the NAPBS FCRA Advanced Certification Program and Testing. Justifacts offers quote-based pricing, so you can get in touch with them either through an online form or by phone for more information.

AccurateNow

AccurateNow may be the best choice on this list for very small businesses with limited hiring needs, as this background check service offers pay-as-you-go packages and an ultra-simple process: All you need to do is register for an account by providing some basic information about your business, electronically sign a user agreement, and sign up for whichever service package bets suits your needs and budget. When you order background checks through AccurateNow, your candidate will receive an invitation to provide their name and email, and AccurateNow will run a report according to the package you’ve purchased.

AccurateNow offers three service plans that range from $29.95 to $74.95 per report, plus a one-time $25 setup fee. Each reporting plan increases in thoroughness, but their most basic plan includes a social security number trace and address history check, a current county criminal search, a national criminal check with county verification, and a national sex offender registry check. You can also select add-on services (like employment, education, or professional verification) for an extra flat fee.

GoodHire Background Check: The Bottom Line

All told, GoodHire Background Check is an excellent option for employers seeking an accredited, compliant, and user-friendly background screening service—not to mention GoodHire reviews are some of the most universally positive reviews we’ve seen among their competitors.

So if you’re serious about partnering with a trustworthy background screening service, we’d recommend getting in touch with GoodHire to see how much this service would cost your business. At the same time, it can’t hurt to receive quotes from other accredited background screening services, like the ones we mentioned as GoodHire alternatives, and compare prices.

Ultimately, however, it’s in your best interest to choose the best possible background screening service with an excellent customer service team, even if that means splurging a little. It’ll be worth the peace of mind you get when you’re certain that you’re hiring the highest-caliber employees.

Christine Aebischer

Christine Aebischer is an editor at Fundera. Previously, she was an editor at the financial planning startup LearnVest and its parent company, Northwestern Mutual. She has written for print and online on topics ranging from personal finance and insurance to luxury real estate and interior design. She has a degree in journalism and English from The College of New Jersey. Email: christine.aebischer@fundera.com.